Canterbury Jack

I have not tried this beer, but was drawn to make comment on it by an advertisement on the back of a recent CAMRA publication. Who is this beer marketed at?
Taking the ad at face value it could be assumed that it is being marketed as a chav beer. Two old geezers dressed up in very chav hoodie get up with two (chav) dogs that would not be out of place on any estate. So by placing this ad on the back of a CAMRA publication which is 'very' middle class are they inadvertently saying 'drink this beer and you can be a chav too?' Sounds very appealing to my middle class sensibilities - NOT

I really just don't get it. To further make the beer appear to be more chav like (my observations over the last few years have noted that cheap lager and cider are the beverages of choice for chavs), they describe the beer as "Lighter in Alcohol and colour, with a dry citrus flavour. It's ale that's like well wicked, innit". They could be describing cheap lager (like Fosters Citrus Twist).

Why don't they just advertise how the beer tastes: "Shepherd Neame - common as muck"

Rubbish pubs

Last Friday night I went out for a beer with a few colleagues. In terms of pubs, we are spoiled for choice in Clerkenwell but sometimes even a sure thing like finding a decent pub gets royally screwed up. I should have realised as soon as someone said we would be joining members of the Sales team. I say this as they (Sales types) usually frequent a rather unattractive dive near my office called "The King of Diamonds". This place (pictured left) is more of a drinking factory than a pub and ranks well down my list of options. But anyhow, my excitement was renewed when I learned we were going to a different pub, one called The Blue Anchor off Chancery Lane. Upon arrival the place was packed and way too many people for the tiny bar to cope with. I looked around and to my disappointment realised that it was basically the King of Diamonds in a different location - a real let down. I think I understand the situation. The sales team are mainly single girls in their late 20's, and the Chancery Lane area is teeming with young up and coming solicitors fired up after a day in the law courts. These girls are out looking for a rich bloke (preferably one that wears a wig to work) and will drink in shithouse venues to find him. Sad really.

I did manage to get one pint of Pride in before beating a hasty retreat home where I smashed a bottle of Shepherds Neame Christmas Ale and a Leffe Bruin. Then I went for some Thai at the Parr's Head where I had some more London Pride. I felt suitably redeemed after this, but I will not be venturing out drinking with the sales team again.

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In other news, the snow has eased and I am back at work. Here is a snowman that is currently residing on Brook Green. He is strategically positioned between the Brook Green Hotel and The Queens Head. It is a pity he can't walk to either!

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Whitstable Bay

As I mentioned in another post, my brother in law is in town. Being an average Australian fellow, he has not had any exposure to real ale before and I thought a light refreshing ale with a 'down under' flavour would appeal to him. In this sense, I picked up a couple of bottles of Shepherd Neame's Whitstable Bay Organic Ale (4.5% abv) from Morrisons.

This beer is organic and is brewed with organic British malt and organic hops from New Zealand. For those who are slightly out of touch, New Zealand has the most exciting and promising new varieties of hops in the world. The new varieties such as Nelson Sauvin and Saaz D put the US varieties to shame and readily available despite the alleged 'world hop crisis'.

Anyhow, moving back to the beer! It has a slightly sweet malt flavour, with a nice dry bitter aftertaste. the kind of beer that you want after mowing the lawn on a hot summers day (which need not apply in the UK!). Anyhow, the verdict from the brother in law? "It's ok, but not as good as Tooheys Extra Dry". You can't win them all!

Whitstable bay is brewed at Shepherd Neame's brewery in Faversham. they have a website which is pretty good. I am also on the lookout for some of their delicious Porter which started to get distributed last weekend.

Shepherd Neame Late Red

I was back in the London office again on Friday and it was pretty quiet so a few of the lads decided to sneak off early and get a few pints in. As we were taking an earlymark, we decided to go slightly further afield and hit up the Rugby Tavern - a Shepherd Neame tied house in Bloomsbury. I was highly anticipating the opportunity to get my hands on some of the house porter, but it is still being brewed in Faversham and I had to settle with a few pints of perfectly conditioned Late Red (4.5% abv) - the Autumn seasonal.

The Rugby Tavern is a small and cosy pub which had a nice log fire going, which is rare for central London. It is tucked away down a side street so you won't just stumble upon it, however it's proximity to several great pubs such as the Lamb mean that it is rarely heaving with punters and the service is both friendly and attractive. Website

Bishop's Finger 2

My mate Rich had birthday drinks at the Betsy Trotwood (a Shepherd Neame house) the week before last and even in my time poor state I managed to scramble along for a couple of pints. My tipple of choice on this evening was Bishop's Finger (abv 5.4%) a lovely Kentish Strong Ale that had been kept in excellent condition. The beer is roughly in the style of an ESB, although I would argue that the beer has a lot more compolexity than other beers in this style. The service at the pub was a little irratic, and I assume the staff were not regulars but they still got the beer out to all the punters. Bishop's Finger can be of mixed meanings in the Clerkenwell area, as there is also a pub by the same name up by Smithfields market. Bishops Finger (the beer) also has a few perculiarities tied with it such as the beer having its own charter for brewing! Apparently the charter states that the beer can only be brewed on Fridays, and then only tby the head brewer in a Russian teak mash tun! It's also the only beer in the world that can claim the beer style 'Kentish Strong Ale', and is brewed with only ingredients sourced wirthin the UK. Keeping with the theme of recent posts, I assume its more environmentally friendly than most! Website:http://www.bishopsfinger.co.uk/

Whitstable Bay

Recently I sampled Adnams East Greene carbon neutral beer. Keeping with a hippy theme I recently enjoyed Shepherd's Neame Whitstable Bay (4.5% abv) and completly organic ale. This beer definetely doesnt cash in on the carbon neutral aspect though as the hops are flown in from New Zealand adding thousands of tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere and leaving a huge carbon footprint. Tastewise the beer is a pretty standrad bitter, but is clean and refreshing and makes a nice summer ale, although it is not specifically marketed as such. Overall a nice beer! Website

Bishop's Finger

This pint of Shepherd Neame Bishop's Finger was also enjoyed whilst camped out at The Bloomsbury. Bishops finger is Shepherd Neame's Extra Special Bitter and weighs in at a generous 5% abv. The flavour differs significantly from Spitfire with a more pronounced bitterness and roast character rather than the up front hoppiness of the Spitfire. The beer is also a lot heavier in the stomach and after two pints I swiftly swictched back to Spitfire. All in all Bishop's Finger is a good beer on the odd occation, but a little to heavy for a session ale. You can read more about it at the Shepherd Neame website here.

Spitfire

Shepherd Neame Spitfire (4.5% abv) is a special bitter with an excellent fresh hoppy taste. this particular pint was enjoyed at "The Bloomsbury" a Shepherd Neame tied house on New Oxford St in Bloomsbury. Originally launched as a seasonal ale, Spitfire proved so popular that it was added permenently to Shepherd Neame's regular lineup. Along with the beer came several rather humerous advertising posters which are retrospective in style (to WWII era) and contain many puns which are deliberately offensive to Germans! I like Spitfire as it is a great session beer.